Here we go!

The first American team came Saturday and we are filled with excitement for the next five weeks, but a little bit of sadness as we realize it won't be the same. What I mean by that, is that we have walked into this summer with an incredible chance to disciple the girls in the youth group here. There are about 10 regular girls who we have grown to love. Yesterday we went on boats in the lake with them as a last goodbye. We will see them again when we do camps here in Pogradec, but it will not be the same as it has been this past month. I cannot believe how great our conversations have been with them. The few who can speak English have been a great blessing in that the depth of our conversations with them and the girls who do not speak English have continued.

Here is a schedule of the next 5 weeks, 4 for me as I will return to school early for RA training

Week one: Korça tent camp (Jr High)
Week two: Korça day camp (High school)
Week three: Pogradec Day camp
Week four:  Korca tent camp (High school)
Week five: Pogradec tent camp (High school)

Tent camps mean that we take 60-80 Albanians and the American team and travel about 45 minutes away to a forest area. We are basically on a small field that we cleaned up last week. There are tents for girls and boys and there is a stage (just built). There are now a few showers and some bathrooms and as of 3 days ago, they were able to access water, which is an answer to prayer!

The American team that just came in from Southern California will run the 3 hour English lessons each day and the games. There will be a sermon each night and we are presenting the Gospel through the life of Paul. I am so excited for this week because there are some kids who will come who have never heard of the name of Jesus. Never. Please pray for us as a team as we love them, talk with them, play games with them all in effort to share the love and good news of Jesus! They are Jr highers so there will be a ton of energy and a ton of fun.

Becaue off the brief window I get on wifi, I will just share some pictures of the last few weeks!

This is the volleyball court at camp and the filed behind it is where some of the tents will be.

This is Bethany with three of the girls at the Pista, which is a restaurant on the water, where we go for Albanian dancing 

This is a picture of the old men form Pogradec who can be found playing chess all day. I love this picture.

                                                Lake Ohrid with the Pista in the background

                                         The Albanian graduation we attended last week

                                                              The beautiful graduate

                 A man fixing the basketball court at the school behind are house. Cracks me up!

Some of the girls who made cupcakes for Saturday youth group 

One of the girls little brother's is learning English and wrote this in the sand. He was very proud of it!

Prayer:

For camp: safety, fun, energy and most importantly that the hearts of these kids would be opened to the gospel. 

For the girls we have spent time with here in Pogradec, that they would continue to ask hard questions, wrestle with truth and that they would seek out the counsel of Kristine and Melodie.

We are so excited for the crazy weeks ahead! 

Camps are coming!

Camps start in 2 weeks from today and we are so excited and working hard to get everything ready!

Last week, Bethany and I got the opportunity to travel three hours to Greece for a few days, where we got the chance to see the Acropolis and sit on Mars hill while we read Acts 17. It was incredible to sit where Paul sat and read about his defense of the faith. Sadly, the city of Athens was quite corrupt and ugly. It was fun to imagine what it would have looked like in Bible times, but  sad to see what it looked like at the moment.

Typically, at the end of summer, Josiah Venture interns get the chance to go on a debrief trip for a few days with their team leaders. Because, we are doing six camps that take us right to the end of the summer, Cory and Kristine suggested that we take a few days in Greece to prepare for camps and see Athens. It was a great opportunity, but by the last day, we were so ready to be back here in Pogradec. I am thankful for the time spent relaxing and preparing for the camps, but I am so glad to be back.

   The girls made cupcakes for Youth group, which is switching from Friday nights to Saturday nights

Daily, we have been meeting with 20 or so kids. Cory and Erion (the Albanian pastor here in Pogradec) have led them in studying the Bible and leading VBS and festivals for the nearby villages. As we have gotten to walk through this with them, it is evident that the Lord is changing hearts and deepening desires to know him and to know truth. For some, it has been difficult to understand, but they have been vigilant in their questions. I am having coffee with a girl tomorrow who has about fifteen questions written down and who wants to read the Bible together. One thing about the youth here, is they understand that there is a cost to being a christian and that to know Christ is to have a different life, so they often say something like "This is new for me, I want to believe, but I have questions." I cannot belive that I get the opportunity to study the Bible with them, to point them to Christ and to love and pursue these kids!

Quick Story: Two nights ago we had two girls over for dinner. One speaks great English and the other understands some, but doesn't speak much. Despite the language barrier, we were able to enjoy panckes and laughs and talking about what we had heard that day about Jesus being fully God and fully man. One precious moment was when we asked the girl who speaks little Albanian to pray, she was nervous, but said okay. After her prayer (in Albanian) she started to cry. She said that she had never prayed in front of people, but that is so glad that she did. Yesterday, this girl Facebooked Bethany and I and asked if both girls could come over again. After a long day of planning for camps, we only had time to grab some chips and gummy bears at a stand right down the street. (In Albania, it is customary to have some sort of food to offer your guests when they come, so we got what we could! :))

So over BBQ chips and gummy bears, this girl shared with us that after praying last night for the first time, she knew we were a safe place. She continued to tell us how she gets made fun of by her famiy for leaving to go to Bible study, or project or youth group. She said her brother told her parents that she was sneaking out to go be with a boy, when she was really going to Bible study. Through this time, we listened and prayed and read scripture. She said she was sick of being lonely and not having a family who wants to read the Bible. It was a new experience for me to feel so helpless, yet want to help so badly. I am beyond thankful that the God we serve is personal God who goes with us and meets us in the scary places and in the lonely ones. Please pray for this sweet girl and her family.

 I want to thank for for your faithful support. Thank you for allowing me to come here through financial donations and for supporting me through prayers. I am humbled and oh so grateful to be here.

Prayer Requests:
Please pray for our team as we finish last minute details for camps.

Please pray for the American teams that are coming to run camp. Pray that they would have servant's hearts and energy to enjoy each moment

Please pray for the youth here as they learn about the gospel and share it at home. It is no easy task for them to explain to their parents.

With joy,
Kate

Leadership Training

       Until July 9, when camps start and American teams from Illinois, California, and Washington come, Bethany and I get the opportunity to invest in the youth here. So everyday, we are having girls over, getting coffee with them, or planning hikes, beach days and bike rides for the youth group. During this time, we have gotten to build quick relationships and I am looking forward to how these will continue to develop.

Making dessert (a Friday night tradition)

Painting Nails 

I missed out on taking a group picture, but I got the bikes! We planned a youth group bike ride to a nearby village, that turned out to have gross lake water so we just ended up coming back to Pogradec and swimming. It was a long, fun day that left many people with crazy sunburns!

       The girl I wrote about in the last post, has continued to ask some heavy questions about Christianity vs Islam and there is another boy in the youth group who grew up in a Muslim household, that has helped her. In explaining his testimony, he said that sometimes he doesn't know how to explain what happened, other than that Christ changed his life and then he went on to share the gospel. She is asking the pastor here many questions and she is amazed that he is willing and able to answer her questions and give her the time of day, because in her experience with Muslim leaders, they have not done so. Please continue to pray for her!

     Yesterday we started a training for about 20 kids in the youth group. Well, Bethany and I didn't start it, but we are there to help. The students had to commit to being available everyday and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, they are going through a fundamentals of the faith workbook. Most of these kids who are saved, have only been saved for at most, a year. They have exemplified such a hunger to know more and already after one day, many have done their "homework" and are so excited about it. Bethany and I did ours too and it probably took us a lot longer than them. We decided to translate the entire chapter (thank you Google translate!) and then answer the questions. It was a great way to get familiar with Albanian words :). On that note, Bethany and I have taken a few language classes, because when we have gone to get groceries we have had trouble asking "How much is this?" and then being able to give them the proper amount of lek, so having those few lessons has made a great difference! I can count to 10 and ask a few questions and say "cow," "snake," and "eagle." :) Hoping to learn more! The girls love to teach us, but they talk so fast and many of the Albanian letters (36 of them!!) sound similar to American ears.

One of my favorite things to do is go grocery shopping. It goes like this:
We go to the bakery for bread
than down the next street we go to the meat market
and then we go a few doors down to a little market for fruit
and finally, we go to another market for spices and cheese
and do it all again the next day, because we can only carry one days worth of food.
I have come to love it.

What to pray for:
-The training. I will provide more details as we have more training, but this is an incredible chance for these kids not only to study the Word, but also to be put in a position of leadership, something they would not get anywhere else because of the lack of job opportunities here. They are being trained to run VBS camps, MC at big events, crowd control and how to face paint. Please pray that their parents would continue to support them in this, that they would have fun while doing this and ultimately that would more about their Savior and the promises of his Word.
-Pray for the upcoming camps. We are doing a lot of preparation right now and in Albania, things seem to take just a little bit longer to accomplish, please pray for renewed strength for the leaders of the church and for us. It is a joy to prepare, but we are also excited for camps to start!

I am so thankful for the opportunity to be here. I wake up every morning and cannot believe I am here seeing the God of the universe work in the lives of people in a very different culture.
I have taken much joy in the comfort of the promise offered in Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." We serve a faithful God!

-Kate

As I am sitting to write this update, I am overwhelmed with how much has already happened in the past 6 days here in Pogradec. Bethany and I arrived on Thursday and the Cramer's showed us the place we will stay at for the summer. 

The house is owned by a sweet older woman who is allowing us to rent the second floor, which is where she usually stays. It is furnished and there is a little kitchen. We have gotten used to sleeping in an Albanian bed, hanging our clothes on a clothesline and making food for our guests with whatever silverware we can find. Yesterday we made chocolate chip cookies for the girls bible study with a small fork and a spoon. :) 

Yesterday, Bethany and I had the opportunity to go to coffee with a few girls who we have come to love. Two of them have been regularly attending Kristine's Bible study and youth group and the other one has been very intrigued. She is from a Muslim family. Her father is a Muslim, yet has told her she has the freedom to choose what she wants. During our time at coffee, she asked some questions and at one point said "If I was an atheist this would be easier because then I wouldn't have to completely turn around and change." She asks many questions and every day that we see her, she has a new questions. In those that we don't know we have the chance to point her to the pastor of the youth group here, who has a background with Muslim belief. This girl is only 14, yet she is so desiring to know the truth. In Kristine's Bible Study on Tuesday, she was listening intently to what Kristine was sharing on John 13, where Jesus washes the feet of the disciples. Afterwards, she told me she couldn't believe that Jesus was so kind and humble, but still God. Please pray for her and the other girls, who each have stories and hearts to know God.

Some are easier to speak with because they speak great English, for others, there is another girl who will translate. Through both means, the Word of God is being shared.

               Here is a picture of the girls we get to hang out with every day.

I am writing this and still amazed at how quickly the Lord has allowed us to invest in these girls and how open they have been. 

Often, when I come to update the blog, I am overwhelmed with the many different things to share and how to convey accurately and appropriately the various opportunities and stories that occur each day. So I am going to work to write less, but more frequently.

Can you pray for the girls here, that they would continue to ask questions and that ultimately, they would come to know their Savior? 
Can you pray for the youth at the church that know God? Pray that they would desire to become leaders and share the gospel with the many kids here in Pogradec.  

This is a sweet friend, who has been faithful to translate for us and those that don't speak much English. She has an incredible story and is learning that God can use her gift of translation to share the gospel with many people. She is also growing in an understanding of who Jesus is and how he lived while he walked the earth. She wants her friends to believe so badly, but she is finding the importance of studying God's word, sharing it with them, and praying for them. This is a picture from the hike we took recently with the youth group. Behind us is Lake Ohrid and Pogradec.  

Thank you for your support and your prayers!
Kate

Training and now off to Albania!

I am currently sitting at Hotel Malenovice in Malenovice, Czech Republic. We (110 other interns and 100 plus JV staff members, serving in 14 different countries) have now been here for 5 days. I could go on and on about how incredible this time has been. I see how necessary this time is for each intern to prepare their hearts and minds for the summer ahead. Not only have we gotten to learn about how to run English camps, the history and purpose of Josiah Venture, but we also have had time to sit, rest, go before the Lord in worship, prayer and fellowship. If you can't already tell, I am so thankful for this time.

Here is a picture of the hotel, owned by Josiah Venture. Through this hotel they have been able to house many people throughout the year and host conferences.

Last night Dave Patty, the president of Josiah Venture, shared how this organization has grown and how they received this hotel. God has blessed the obedience and open hearts of a young couple's (the Patty's) desire to reach the youth in central and eastern Europe after the fall of Communism. Did you know that less than 1% of eastern and central Europeans are evangelical Christians? If you are interested in learning more about Josiah Venture; their history, the countries they serve in and their values, please go visit their website HERE

In effort to organize the many thoughts I have, I am going to simply list a few of the things that have happened and that I have learned.

- In being here, surrounded by people representing 17 different cultures, I have been given a glimpse into the big God we serve. The people here are different in a variety of ways. They come from different backgrounds, have completely different cultural norms, different food preferences, different quirks and yet they are here. Some are here for the summer some are serving full time. The one thing that unites these people is that they have "the same mind, the same love" by being united in Christ. (Philippians 2) We are here because Christ has saved us and called us to share the good news with the nations. Whether or not the Lord allows me to live overseas in my future, I pray that I would never be too far removed from people of various nations.
- Here is a picture of Bethany and I with our new friends from Estonia. We have been able to share sweet times of talking about how the Lord saved us, how we were brought here and what our countries are like.

- The amazing race was an awesome chance to see the city of Prague, meet a ton of people and also be worn out and speed by any jet lag. Here is my team. We got second place out of 22 teams!

How can you pray for Bethany and I? 
-  Pray that we would be faithful in the  small tasks the Lord provides us with.
- We are doing 6 camps, English and volleyball this summer (more details to come). Would you pray for the hearts of the youth who will hear the message of Jesus for the first time? Pray that they would be soft, open and excited to their Heavenly Father and that they would have the opportunity to be involved in the local church in Albania.
- Pray for the leaders of the youth in Albania. They are the ones who day to day will be living life with the kids that come to camp. Pray for their strength, their initiative to disciple the students, and their personal relationship's with the Lord.

We will arrive in Albania tonight and in Pogradec tomorrow morning! We are SO excited!!

- Kate

Itinerary

Because I leave in a few hours and do not have much time, I am simply going to post the itinerary I have made up for the summer so that those that read this can know how to pray for me and my team. I had originally intended on sending out emails, but I think this is the better medium to give updates to those that want it. I plan to use this site to post an update or two a week to keep those who have dearly supported me both in finances, friendship, and prayer, updated on what the Lord is allowing me to walk through in Albania. Thank you!

Tuesday May 26

Leave LAX at 3:10

Arrive in Frankfurt

Wednesday May 27

Leave Frankfurt

Arrive in Prague (where the Race starts)

Wednesday May 27-Friday May 29: The Amazing race

This is something Josiah Venture does every year with their interns to develop team unity. There are 12 European countries that JV has interns in. Each country has 2-8 interns, which are broken down into teams. I will be on a team with Bethany Ester (the other Albanian intern) and the Romania interns. Bethany and I will spend a lot of time together this summer, so when you pray for me, please pray for her as well. She is incredible. We have been told to brace ourselves for these three days because we will do 10-12 hours of walking/running.

Saturday May 30 - Tuesday June 2: Training

After the Amazing Race, we will be led to the training site in Malenovice, Czech Republic. All Josiah Venture interns will be here. It will be a time to be trained in cultural, biblical and relational principles.

Wednesday June 3

Train back to Prague

Hang out in Prague until flight

Flight from Prague to Slovenia

     Slovenia to Tirana, Albania

Thursday June 4

Bethany and I will stay in a hotel until Cory picks us up in the morning. Then we will drive from Tirana to Pogradec (their town) which is about a three hour drive.

June 5-August 8

Pogradec, Albania

More details about camps and specific ways to pray to come!

With much anticipation, joy and love
Kate